Tom Clements
Tom Clements was the lonely army war veteran who worked as the custodian of the Walford Community Centre and potman of The Queen Victoria up until his death in April 1988. Tom had a friendly rivalry with Arthur Fowler and would often work on his allotment next to Arthur's, although the pair argued when Roly destroyed Tom's plot and he blamed Arthur for the damage. They also went into rivalry when Arthur decorated The Dagmar with flowers for a London in Bloom contest, while Tom decorated The Queen Victoria. He would also unsuccessfully attempt to flirt with many of the ladies of Albert Square, including Dot Cotton, Angie Watts and Pat Wicks. In 1987, Tom offered to do a council swap with Dot, when she felt her flat was becoming overcrowded living with Ethel Skinner. After he died in 1988, Dot took it upon herself to arrange his funeral and dispose of his personal belongings. Biography 1986-1988: Life in Walford Tom was the custodian of the Walford Community Centre and took great pride in it. He then became a potman at The Queen Victoria, a job which he was paid by cash-in-hand. He had an allotment next to Arthur Fowler and competed against him in growing vegetables for a competition. However, when Roly ran over Tom's allotment and destroyed it, Tom blamed Arthur, convinced he had turfed up his plot in order to win the competition. Tom sneakily took Arthur's vegetables to the competition instead as payback and won. He then gave Arthur his prize marrow back. Tom's friendly rivalry with Arthur continued in 1987 when it was announced that a London in Bloom contest was going to be held. Arthur decorated the exterior of The Dagmar while Tom decorated the exterior of The Vic. The pair went into a friendly battle to see who would win, but things turned sour when Tom had plastic flowers planted at The Vic, leading to disqualification. Arthur then had the flowers he planted destroyed at The Dagmar as payback. Arthur's flower display at The Dagmar came second in the contest. As well as his friendship with Arthur, Tom would often attempt to flirt with the ladies of Albert Square, though he was always unsuccessful. He asked Dot Cotton to marry him, but she rejected him, still in love with her estranged husband, Charlie. When Dot's flat became overcrowded in 1987, Tom offered to do a council swap with her. In 1988, residents started commenting on Tom's appearance. He admitted he had not had a general health check-up in the recent months, and a few days later, whilst working at The Vic, he suffered chest tightness and ran to the gents toilets, where he died. In the aftermath of his death, Dot took it upon herself to arrange his funeral and dispose of his belongings. She was unhappy when she was the only one who attended his funeral. First and last lines "Er, table tennis is tomorrow night, young man." (First line, to Arthur Fowler) --- "Doc I, I'm feeling a bit off-colour. I, I'll pop in and see you tomorrow." (Final line) See also *Full list of appearances Category:EastEnders characters Category:1986 debuts Category:1988 deaths Category:1988 departures Category:Residents of 23A Albert Square Category:Residents of 25 Albert Square Category:The Queen Victoria potmen